American voters just delivered historic wins in the midterm elections. And despite mis- and disinformation being circulated to reduce our trust in the system, the election ran smoothly. This is thanks to how our elections are run, and how election officials make sure they are secure and that every vote gets counted.
Who manages elections in the U.S.?
While there are federal laws about voting, elections are not run by the federal government. The U.S. Constitution gives the states the authority over when, where, and how elections are conducted. They are managed by a system of more than 10,000 state and local jurisdictions. Exact procedures vary from state to state.
In most, but not all, states, the Secretary of State oversees elections that are managed by Boards of Elections. The management and staffing of elections is done by 10,000 career election officials and 800,000 poll workers in more than 130,000 polling locations nationwide.
These trained professionals are our friends and neighbors. At least 44 states legally require poll workers to live in the same precinct or county where their polling place is located.
What steps do U.S. elections officials take to make sure our elections are secure?
The localized system of election management makes it very difficult and highly unlikely for widespread interference in elections to occur. Jurisdictions also share best practices and security measures for conducting transparent, free and fair elections:
- They follow federal laws for list maintenance of voter rolls.
- Voters are required to provide proof of their eligibility to vote.
- Mail ballots have unique serial codes for tracking.
- There are rules governing the chain of custody and storage of ballots.
- There are state and federal security standards for voting machines including testing and auditing. Most jurisdictions use machines in conjunction with paper ballots which are kept for auditing if necessary.
- States have certification laws that outline thorough and careful procedures for counting all votes.
- Many states require that polling place staff have bipartisan representation.
- All voting sites are open to independent poll watchers who can be partisan appointees.
- There are rules that prevent poll observers from interfering with voting.
- Jurisdictions create protection plans for many threatening scenarios.
What should voters expect on Election Day?
Free and fair elections are the rule of law and they are our right. Voters should be able to easily find out when, where, and how they can vote in their jurisdiction. Everyone who is eligible and registered to vote should be able to cast their ballot and have it counted. Eligible voters should expect to vote without any fear or intimidation, and they should never get turned away before casting their ballot. Finally, we should all expect our candidates and elected officials to accept the certified outcomes of elections.
What if voters run into problems on Election Day?
Election officials game-plan and prepare for many possible scenarios. They are ready to push back on any threats. But if any issues arise that affect your ability to vote, or if you witness anything keeping others from voting, you can report it to the national Election Protection Hotline at 866ourvote.org.
When should voters expect to know election results?
In this day and age, we all want immediate gratification, but elections don’t work like that. Election night results are unofficial. Even though we see minute-by-minute tracking of election results on our 24-hour news channels, those are just projections. Votes are counted and certified, and races are officially called by elections officials.
Full counting of ballots takes awhile, because it includes processing mail-in ballots, counting provisional ballots, and “curing” ballots that have issues. When elections are too close to call, there can be recounts. All this can take days, weeks, sometimes even months.
These careful processes make sure that every vote is counted and certified. Voters should welcome this, even if it takes longer, because it means our systems are working.
Should voters worry about election security?
We should all be committed to free and fair elections and vigilant about making sure they take place as they should. Fortunately, there is very little evidence of voter fraud in the U.S. With our voting plans in hand, we can vote in every election with confidence and without fear!